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In topological dynamics, the Of course, the statement is preceded by the presentation of the concepts of an entropy structure and its superenvelopes, adapted from the case of

Group marketing uses the psychological mechanisms underlying group influence to drive customer behaviors that are beneficial to the firm. It is predicated on the firm's ability to guide two necessary and sufficient conditions: (1) a customer's awareness of an affiliation with the focal group and (2) exposure to group norms. By examining what it means to be affiliated with a group; determining how group norms are inferred, applied, and maintained; and testing a wide variety of ways in which these conditions become manifest, this research demonstrates the theoretical foundations of group marketing. Groups influence purchase behaviors by altering information and identity appraisals during decision making. Time in a purchase domain emerges as a critical determinant of the strength of group influence. Although previous research has suggested that social influence diminishes over time, a longitudinal field study and an experiment reveal that this prediction holds only when information appraisal dominates; an opposite effect arises when identity appraisal dominates. Group efficacy strengthens, but product price weakens, the effects of groups on purchase behaviors.

Social robots can be designed to facilitate co-creation. The impact of mood expressions displayed by human facilitators can elicit similar moods in others, fostering collaboration, process satisfaction, and co-creation performance. However, the extent to which robot mood expressions can influence such group dynamics to the same effect remains an open question. To address this, we conducted an experiment ( N = 110) in which small groups engaged in a co-creation session facilitated by a social robot that displayed positive, neutral, or negative mood expressions. The results showed that robot mood expressions evoked corresponding mood contagion among human group members. The influence of robot expressions on mood valence significantly enhanced group collaboration and process satisfaction. Additionally, participants’ ability to contribute insights during the session and ensure these are represented in session outcomes, an index of co-creation performance, significantly improved when positive robot mood expressions increased mood contagion valence. By establishing the influence of robot mood expressions on mood contagion, group collaboration, process satisfaction, and co-creation performance, we shed light on the potential of social robots for facilitating and enhancing co-creation. Understanding the mechanisms underlying these effects adds to a growing body of work in the field of human-robot interaction and offers valuable insights for developing innovative future robotic systems.

Although a mass of studies has demonstrated the effectiveness of scaffolding through group-dynamic assessment (G-DA) in fostering English as a foreign language (EFL) learners' language skills and components, its contributions to developing psychological constructs, such as motivation, learning anxiety (LA), and willingness to communicate (WTC) have remained largely unexplored in the context of Iranian high schools. Thus, this study purported to disclose the contributions of G-DA to Iranian high school students’ motivation, LA, and WTC. For these purposes, 124 grade 11 students were chosen through a random sampling method at Shahed High School in Borujerd City, Iran, homogenized through the Oxford Quick Placement test (OQPT), and randomly allocated as a control group (CG) ( n  = 23) and an experimental group (EG) ( n  = 23). Afterward, a pre-test, interventions (for 16 one-hour sessions held two times a week as an extra-curricular program), and a post-test were implemented. The results of the independent samples t-tests evidenced that EG’s motivation significantly improved compared to CG after the interventions. Additionally, the findings revealed that the G-DA-based instruction significantly contributed to relieving EG’s LA. Further, the results uncovered that a statistically significant difference existed between EG and CG concerning the gains in WTC. The findings gained in this study are anticipated to contribute significantly to the various EFL settings, as well as they offer a variety of recommendations and implications for relevant stakeholders.

Despite growing interest in computerized dynamic assessment (C-DA) and group dynamic assessment (G-DA) in recent years, their integration, particularly regarding how group composition informed by learners’ Zones of Proximal Development (ZPDs) affects outcomes, has not received due attention. This preliminary study investigates the integration of C-DA and G-DA for teaching L2 English genitives, exploring whether homogeneous grouping diagnosed by learning potential scores (LPSs) in C-DA influences efficacy. Sixty-three second-year English majors at a university in central China were divided into high-, middle-, and low-scoring groups based on a C-DA pre-test. Focusing on the middle-scoring group ( n  = 26), we further classified learners by their LPSs into a homogeneous (mid-LPSs, n  = 9) and a heterogeneous (mixed-LPSs, n  = 9) experimental group receiving G-DA, and a control group ( n  = 8) receiving traditional presentation, practice and production (PPP) instruction. Results indicated that the homogeneous experimental group made greater learning gains and LPSs growth than both the heterogeneous group and the control group. Our findings suggest that LPS may serve as a practical indicator for diagnosing ZPDs, and that LPS-homogeneous grouping could potentially enhance the efficacy of G-DA in this context. Integrating C-DA and G-DA with attention to LPS-based group homogeneity is a promising approach to optimizing L2 grammar learning.

Purpose: This article critically examines the interplay between individualism and collectivism in legal systems. It argues that the law remains disproportionately focused on individual rights and duties, even though group dynamics demonstrably shape behaviour. The paper therefore calls for the formal recognition of informal groups and the integration of collective responsibility to reflect current social realities more accurately.Methodology: Employing a historical-legal and interdisciplinary lens, the study traces the evolution of individualism from Roman law to modern legal frameworks. It combines comparative legal analysis, theoretical critique, and normative analysis to propose legal reforms that reconcile individual autonomy with collective accountability.Findings: Historically, legal systems have privileged individualism and underestimated the influence of groups. As a result, informal collectives often lack protection and meaningful participation in legal processes. This over-emphasis on the individual hampers effective responses to systemic discrimination, environmental harm, and labour rights violations. Although certain branches—such as corporate and environmental law—implicitly recognise collective responsibility, explicit mechanisms to balanceindividual and group interests are still required. Flexible legal models can integrate group accountability without eroding personal rights.Practical implications: Conferring limited legal personality on informal groups would enable them to assert rights without full formalisation. A calibrated balance between individual and collective liability would enhance the law’s capacity to address problems that demand shared responsibility. Strengthening collective legal tools—such as class actions, trade unions, and community governance—would improve legal representation, while the use of AI-enabled digital platforms could foster participatorylaw-making and deliver fairer legal structures. Namen: Članek kritično obravnava preplet individualizma in kolektivizma v pravnih sistemih. Avtor trdi, da je pravo nesorazmerno osredotočeno na individualne pravice in dolžnosti, čeprav skupinska dinamika dokazano oblikuje vedenje. Zato poziva k formalnemu priznanju neformalnih skupin in vključitvi kolektivne odgovornosti, s čimer bi pravo natančneje odražalo sodobno družbeno stvarnost.Metodologija: S historično-pravnim in interdisciplinarnim pristopom študija sledi razvoju individualizma od rimskega prava do sodobnih pravnih okvirov. Združuje primerjalnopravno analizo, teoretsko kritiko in normativno analizo ter predlaga reforme, ki usklajujejo individualno avtonomijo s kolektivno odgovornostjo.Ugotovitve: Zgodovinsko gledano so pravni sistemi privilegirali individualizem in podcenjevali vpliv skupin. Posledično neformalne skupine ne uživajo ustrezne zaščite in smiselne udeležbe v pravnih postopkih. To pretirano poudarjanje posameznika ovira učinkovite odzive na sistemsko diskriminacijo, okoljsko škodo in kršitve delavskih pravic. Čeprav nekatera področja – na primer korporacijsko in okoljsko pravo – implicitno priznavajokolektivno odgovornost, so za uravnoteženje interesov posameznika in skupnosti še vedno potrebni izrecni mehanizmi. Prilagodljivi pravni modeli lahko vključijo skupinsko odgovornost, ne da bi pri tem razvrednotiliosebne pravice.Praktične posledice: Podelitev omejene pravne subjektivitete neformalnim skupinam bi jim omogočila uveljavljanje pravic brez popolne formalizacije. Uravnoteženo razmerje med individualno in kolektivno odgovornostjo bi okrepilo sposobnost prava za reševanje problemov, ki zahtevajo deljeno odgovornost. Krepitev kolektivnih pravnih orodij – kot so skupinske tožbe, sindikati in skupnostno upravljanje – bi izboljšala pravno zastopanje, uporaba digitalnih platform z umetno inteligenco pa bi lahko spodbujala participativno oblikovanje prava in pravičnejše pravne strukture.

The current study set out to investigate the effects of concurrent group dynamic assessment (GDA) and cumulative GDA on Iranian EFL learners’ development of reading comprehension micro-skills. To this end, a convenience sample of 60 intermediate undergraduate EFL university students that were selected based on the results of a placement test and randomly assigned to two experimental groups participated in the study. The participants met once a week for 90-min lessons in a Reading II class over an academic semester. Each group received a concurrent or cumulative GDA mediation on reading tasks with a focus on activities involving five fundamental reading comprehension micro-skills, namely identifying the main idea, finding inferences, finding supporting details, understanding vocabulary, and finding references. A pretest/posttest procedure was used to compare the two group’s achievements. The results of t test analyses demonstrated that both GDA approaches were effective but the students in the concurrent GDA group significantly outperformed those in the cumulative GDA group in terms of micro-skills of identifying the main idea and finding inferences whereas no significant differences were observed for other micro-skills. It could be argued that in concurrent GDA since the secondary interactants expect to be called on at any moment, they are more alert and attentive to mediational exchanges, and this contributes to enriching the micro-skills of identifying the main idea and finding inferences. The findings suggest that concurrent and cumulative GDA approaches when applied to teaching reading comprehension should be viewed as complementary. The concurrent approach works better with activities that require higher-cognitive functions and top-down processes such as identifying main ideas or finding inferences. On the other hand, both approaches could be equally beneficial and interchangeably used in activities that involve lower-level bottom-up cognitive processes such as finding supporting details, understanding vocabulary, or finding references. The findings offer significant implications for classroom practice and subsequent research that are discussed.

The rapid growth in interfaith peacebuilding has elevated the prominence of religion in theoretical and practical discourse, highlighting its importance in conflict dynamics. In dialogue-based encounters between distinct identity groups, religion often emerges as a key factor, regardless of participants’ specific affiliation or religiosity level. However, studies on religion-related tension typically adopt a polarized perspective, framing conflict in intergroup contexts while overlooking intra-group dynamics. This paper addresses this gap through a qualitative cross-case analysis of two studies, conducted in Israel during 2016–2019. Participants included 28 secular Jews and 28 secular Arabs (Christian and Muslim). Our findings reveal that non-religious individuals from both societies experienced similar challenges in navigating intra-group, religion-based encounters. Participants identified religion as defining boundaries of understanding, acceptance, legitimacy, and belonging within their societies. The study also highlights gaps in mutual recognition, whereby the participants expressed willingness to accept religion as integral to their religious counterparts’ identity, yet reported that this openness was not reciprocated. This gap created barriers to dialogue, weakening potential intra-group cohesion. This paper contributes to the literature on conflicts and peacebuilding, underscoring notable intra-group similarities between Jewish and Arab participants, and offers a novel framework for understanding religious dynamics across distinct social contexts.

In today’s volatile business environment, securing a sustainable competitive advantage hinges on retaining and effectively managing talent. While talent turnover is inevitable, strategic internal human resource (HR) transfers offer a solution to prevent talent outflow and supplement skill gaps. However, previous models for identifying internal substitutes often focus solely on individual work capabilities, neglecting the critical role of group interactions and collaborative structure. Drawing on social network theory, transactive memory systems, and person–group fit, this study proposes a graph-based analytical approach that models the organization as a complex system. Our methodology provides a holistic framework that integrates both (1) individual capabilities and (2) group-level characteristics (e.g., work-relationship networks and cluster-level similarity) to identify the most suitable substitutes. At the macroscopic level, we use an inductive graph neural network (GraphSAGE) to learn node embeddings from a work relationship network constructed from process event logs and to quantify group-level similarity. At the microscopic level, we compute dynamic collaboration intensity, frequency, and task similarity between employees over time. To validate the approach, we develop four simulation scenarios using an enriched incident management process event log and implement them in a SimPy-based simulator, benchmarking against an existing method that considers only individual factors. Across all scenarios, the proposed dual-factor model significantly outperforms the baseline in terms of efficiency, accuracy, and suitability. This research provides a practical, validated algorithm that supports evidence-based workforce management and more effective internal talent allocation.

Background: Medical students need to develop self-directed learning skills in early medical schools and it is important to develop critical thinking and creative skills among young learners. Aims and Objectives: The aim of the study to determine the effects of training first-phase MBBS students in workshop mode for learning ethical principles, leadership skills, and stress management. Materials and Methods: This study was conducted on 145 first MBBS students after taking institutional ethical clearance and informed consent. Three workshops were organized by the department of physiology and the medical education unit to implement the module. A workshop was conducted to sensitize faculty members. Written feedback was taken from students and assessments were done using pre-validated questionnaires. Results: The students were able to solve problems in groups which increased their problem-solving and critical-thinking skills. The mean ± standard deviation of the class of performance following the workshops - leadership skills: 70.25 ± 6.45; ethics: 85.24 ± 3.68; and stress management: 84.86 ± 4.5. In the workshop on stress management, it was observed that females had higher anxiety scores as compared to male counterparts. Conclusions: Engaging students to learn leadership skills, ethical principles, and stress management techniques in workshops motivated the young learners and made the teaching–learning experience for the learners as well as faculty members enjoyable. The use of technological assistance decreased the number of faculty members needed to conduct workshops and the whole batch of students could be controlled effectively.